I recently relocated my 16” Jointer/planer to be up against the wall of my shop. This means I can’t use the stock fence for the jointer because it requires 16” of clearance behind the machine for the fence to be pushed back all the way.

Also, the fence system it came with was absolute junk and I could never rely on it to be accurate. However the actual fence part it had was fine, a nice long piece of really heavy aluminum extrusion that was ground to be dead flat.

So then I came up with a CRAZY idea, right? What if I just held the fence onto the cast iron table with a magnet???

I had an electromagnetic door lock leftover from a different project a long time ago. It runs on 12V or 24V DC and has 600lbs of holding force, and can be left on 24/7 if needed. So I’m thinking, I’ll build a mounting bracket that lets me lock the fence down onto the outfeed table using the magnet, with maybe some fine adjustment so I can ensure it’s absolutely dead on 90 degrees to the table surface. When I need to face joint full 14-16” wide boards, I can turn the electromagnet off with a switch and just lift the fence off and put it aside.

Is there any chance of the cast iron table becoming magnetized? My concern with magnets being used on woodworking tools is that the tool becomes magnetized and then attracts metal particles. I recently was working on a smoother plane and when I took the blade away from the chip breaker it felt like it was stuck to it. I first suspected something sticky holding the two pieces together but on further inspection found that the blade has somehow become magnetized. Probably because someone put it on a magnetic bar on the wall or some such. Not good. Anyway, just thought I would mention that since you were describing mounting a door lock. Might be worth exploring first.Mike

I’m not sure that an electromagnet would magnetize the cast iron bed. I hadn’t thought about that beforehand but if it did, wouldn’t the ‘magswitch’ jigs like the featherboard and such, have the same effect?

I don’t have any good pictures right now but I did build a really really basic bracket to hold the fence onto the magnet and the initial impression is promising. It holds pretty well except it’s prone to rotating/spinning if I push on the end of the fence too hard. This might be fixed by adding a second electromagnet so the holding force is distributed over a larger area.

I might also add some rubber ‘feet’ that get compressed when the magnet is engaged, and the rubber feet could help prevent unwanted scooting.

I m not sure that an electromagnet would magnetize the cast iron bed. I hadn t thought about that beforehand but if it did, wouldn t the magswitch jigs like the featherboard and such, have the same effect?

I don t have any good pictures right now but I did build a really really basic bracket to hold the fence onto the magnet and the initial impression is promising. It holds pretty well except it s prone to rotating/spinning if I push on the end of the fence too hard. This might be fixed by adding a second electromagnet so the holding force is distributed over a larger area.

I might also add some rubber feet that get compressed when the magnet is engaged, and the rubber feet could help prevent unwanted scooting.

- William Shelley

Using DC will magnetize the bed for sure, but if you could figure out how to run that magnet with AC it wouldn’t, I’m pretty sure.

Update: I’ve been dwelling on this project a bit lately and I think that it’s a bust. Mostly because of the issues where the magnet still allows a little bit of “scooting”, and because this jointer is so big that it’s possible that I’m going to be pushing some rather large and heavy stuff against the fence.

Which takes me to crazy idea #2:

I’m going to drill and tap holes in the outfeed table. Yes, I’m going to “ruin” the equipment.

Going on a tangent here, I’ve noticed that, in general, flat cast iron surfaces are worshiped as some kind of holy deity in the wood shop. But lets think about this for a bit. Everyone’s table saw already has two big huge gouges in it … and they’re done by the manufacturer! Shaper tables have drilled and tapped holes to mount the fence and guard, not to mention that shapers often require modification by the end user to fit aftermarket power feeder post mounts.

I think that modification of power tools, stationary or otherwise, is and should be considered perfectly acceptable, provided that the modifications don’t introduce or worsen safety issues, and provided that the workmanship of the modifications is at a level that matches the workmanship of the original tool.

In my case, I work with metal quite frequently and at the expense of sounding arrogant, I “know what I’m doing” here. Plus, cast iron is dead easy to drill and tap. This modification will allow me to bolt the fence directly to the outfeed table, providing extreme rigidity and accuracy.

I say drill away it’s yours to do what you want right. My thoughts are having the fence fixed in one spot would drive my crazy. I run straight Hss knives so I like to move my fence for jointing edges on a sharp area of knife.
I see you have a insert head but you can still wear the cutters and the table if you ran the same spot.So I think it will cause problems in the long run.

I would recommend finding some way to rig it from the back of the machine, not out of fear of having your soul consumed by the lich that inhabits your cast steel bed, but because being able to move the fence all the way back and out of the way of the cutter head is useful for maintenance, and if done properly making setting your fence back on a 90 easier.

By the way, how’s that Milwaukee circular saw working out for you? I’ve noticed the gearbox leaking oil slowly on mine after a year and some change of light use. Rather miffed about it.